Planned Parenthood case set for Oct. 19

A ruling affecting health care, including contraception, for some 130,000 low-income Texas women probably won’t come until late this year as Planned Parenthood and the state of Texas plan for mid-October oral arguments in their legal fight.

The state is appealing a preliminary injunction that U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel granted six weeks ago preventing Texas from disqualifying Planned Parenthood from participating in the Women’s Health Program. State leaders oppose Planned Parenthood because some of its clinics provide abortion services.

Yeakel told both parties Friday the case could change depending on how the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the state’s effort to lift his injunction. The appeals court will hear oral arguments on June 7.

Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit to stop enforcement of a rule it claims is unconstitutional because it is designed to make Planned Parenthood ineligible to participate in the Women’s Health program. The rule violates the group’s constitutional rights because, according to the suit, it imposes an unconstitutional condition – preventing participation in the health program if clinics are affiliated with abortion providers.

The ban has prompted the federal government to begin phasing out its program funding. The federal government had been picking up about 90 percent of the tab, which tops $30 million annually.

Yeakel set Oct. 19 for oral arguments in the case. He said he would not likely issue a ruling before November. A Planned Parent official said Yeakel’s timeline essentially extends the program through October when federal funding stops.